Custer chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, Black Hills, D.T. [S.D.]) 1880-1890, 1887-06-18
Peculiar Journalism.

4
been loud and persistent in its defense
of the Big Bend Hydraulic Mining Com.
pany, a corporation that has never
levied an assessment, and has profess.
edly paid $4,000 in dividends, a sum
largely in excess of the entire gold
product Of the county in which it is
located, and which is, SO far as its pub
lished statements of it's product is con-
cerned, as glaring and papable fraud
as the history Of mining operations can
furnish, in recent issue denounces the
! Harvey Peak Tin Company, recently
| organized in London, claiming that it is
even "worse than the usual Anglo
| American-bubble." The Journal be-
trays objectionable ignorance Of the
situation. A newspaper devoted to the
mining interests Of the country should
not jump at conclusions, but should
base its assertions upon we'll settled
facts, and especially should this be the
rule when the interests of the whole
country is involved, as it is inl the
present case. The Journal commits
itself Of the most glaring ingnorance OF
the subject upon which it seeks to
inform its readers, when it says: "The
idea Of there being any tin property
there worth ten million dollars, or any
thing like that sum, is simply absurd"
The writer evidently infers that one
property, or one group Of mines only, is
embraced in this transfer, and would
doubtless be greatly surprised to learn
that the property Of this "Anglo-Ameri-
can bubble as he unwisely chooses to
term it, includes more than one hun
dred promising locations in the differ
ent districts Of the Central and Southern
Hills, including valuable mill which
has already made an experimental run,
and which only requires certain trihing
changes in the adjustment Of it's ma
chinery to make it pronounced sue
cess.
We do not hesitate to say, for the
information Of the Journal, that in no
country in the world does surface indi-
cations give better promise of produc-
tive tin mines than may be seen i'm the
Black Hills; and the belief that the
favorable character Of ore found upon
the surface is maintained TO a great
depth, is greatly strengthened and en-
couraged by the fact of even better
character of ore being found in every
case among the scores Of instances
where the test of development has been
applied to any extent whatever. 1t
would seem to be the policy OF the
Journal in its comments upon Black
Hills mining enterprises, to reverse
the situation, and ascribe merit where
none exists, and condemn where it is
conclusively shown.
The Journal, through the medium Of
its Black Hills exchanges, has been well
advised as to the character of the Big
Bend company, and while it may be
admitted that Black Hills papers do not
materially differ with those published
in other mining countries, in adding
color to their descriptions of mining
properties, with view of enlarging
upon their merits, it would be utterly
preposterous to accept the belief that
they would unite in condemning any
enterprise having any merit whatever.
We can therefore safely conclude that
not until it has been difinitely demon
strated that the tin mines of the Black
Hills are worthless, fraudulently mani.
pulated, and utterly void Of merit, can
it be expected that our New York con-
temporary will bestow upon them a
| favorable mention. The sacred rever.
ence for foreign titles which pervades
certain stratas of New York society, is
fairly illustrated in the Journals thrust
at the London board Of directors of the
company referred to. We quote "And
yet the board of directors is composed
Of people no one ever heard of--not a
title among them" While it may not
appear at all remarkable that the
Journals acquaintance in London is not
sufficiently expansive to embrace even a
single member of this bubble" board
it is nevertheless matter Of regret that
the absence Of titles should initiate
against just conclusion, upon the part
of any public journal as to the merits Of
the property. From New York stand
point, the absence Of single title on
this board, may be regarded as fatal TO
the enterprise, but in the broad and
boundless west, where men are meas.
ured by different standard, the
trifling circumstance will cut no figure
whatever. The success with the new
enterprise rests with the future, which
from local standpoint, seems fairly
brilliant with assured promise.
The prospective value of Black Hills
tin resources have been fairly and care
fully measured by England's best and
most practical experts, and upon their
mature and candid judgment the new
organization is based, and while we are
i'm possession Of such valid assurances
Of the Importance Of our wonderful tin
| .oco,~oa. tha eI;,>x ,t,re, nf n,r -,